The female breasts have very little internal support, being composed largely of adipose tissue or fat. It is believed that the primary anatomical support for the breast is provided by the Cooper's ligaments, with the skin covering the breasts offering some additional support. However, this anatomical support is usually insufficient to hold the breasts up (especially in older women), and to prevent movement of the breasts, which can cause pain and discomfort. Thus, the primary reason for wearing a brassiere or similar foundation garment is to provide external support for the breasts, increasing comfort and mobility. Brassieres are also believed by some to help preserve the youthful shape of breasts (which naturally sag as women grow older).
A brassiere consists of cups for the breasts, a center panel, and a band running around the body under the bust. Unless a brassiere is a strapless brassiere, it will also include a shoulder strap at each side. A brassiere is typically made of a fabric such as cotton or lace, with the cups for the breasts given shape by underwires or plastic reinforcements. The brassiere is usually fastened with a hook fastener on the band, typically at the back, but in some embodiments the fastener is situated at the front, in between the cups.
A range of styles of brassieres exist, to be worn in a variety of situations. Strapless brassieres, for example, have no shoulder straps and are designed for wearing with clothes that reveal the shoulders, such as halterneck tops. Backless brassieres, otherwise known as adhesive bras, have no back strap and include an adhesive on the proximal side of the brassiere so as to adhere the item to the wearer's skin. Adhesive brassieres are designed for wearing with backless dresses that reveal the wearer's back.
One problem with adhesive brassieres is that they are typically constructed of an elastic material. This also applies to the side panels of the brassiere, which are used to adhere the brassiere to the sides of the wearer's body. As the elastic side panels are applied to the wearer's skin on the sides of her body using her hands, the side panels can be stretched due to their elastic quality. When the side panels are released by the wearer's hands, the side panels retract or return to their original shape and thereby pull on the wearer's skin. This phenomenon has the affect of pulling the skin on the sides of the wearer's body toward the centerline of the brassiere and her body. This is not desirable, since it may be uncomfortable and may produce indentations in fatty areas in the skin on the sides of the wearer's body.
Another problem with adhesive brassieres is that the side panels do not fit all types of outfits. As explained above, adhesive brassieres are designed for wearing with backless dresses that reveal the wearer's back and portions of the sides of her body. If the side panels of the brassiere are too long, they may extend beyond the area covered by the dress, thereby exposing the brassiere. This is a drawback of the current adhesive brassiere design since it is desirable and fashionable to hide the fact that a user is wearing a brassiere.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above, and particularly for an improved backless and strapless adhesive brassiere.